


Stuck In The Middle

by Ivegothomework



Series: The Adventures of Penny Parker [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Other, Pepper Potts Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 00:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30080856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivegothomework/pseuds/Ivegothomework
Summary: “Do you think I care?!” Penny yells again.“Okay, let’s calm down. Penny, tell us what’s going on and we’ll help you.” Tony says.“Why would you guys even care? You don’t even care enough to come to the science fair.” Penny says and realization is set on their faces.
Relationships: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The Adventures of Penny Parker [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056404
Comments: 8
Kudos: 111





	Stuck In The Middle

**Author's Note:**

> Someone wanted more family fluff/angst so here we are! As usual, this has not been proofread, so feel free to correct my mistakes if you find any :)

Being the middle child isn’t always easy, that was for sure. Penny knew that her parents loved her, but sometimes she just felt…forgotten. Especially when the focus was on Harley who was heading into his last year of high school, which means there was lot of focus and attention to help him with his senior year project and preparing to apply for college. Then there was Morgan who just started 4th grade and was busy with her ballet classes and ballet shows that they put on every once in a while which meant a lot of driving back and forth to ballet class 4 afternoons a week.

And then there was Penny, who just tried to get through freshman year of high school which she considered being a living hell. Thank god for her friends MJ and Ned. If it wasn’t for them she would ditch that place so fast and ask to be homeschooled instead.

She knew her parents cared and loved her. But the amount of times she’d been forgotten about was kind of ridicolous actually. It’s been happening a lot more recently, bad quite frankly, Penny was actually starting to get quite tired of it. But at the same time, she just tried to let it slip. She knew her parents were busy people and that they didn’t always remember everything.

“Mom, dad, don’t forget that we have a parent-teacher conference this Friday, one of you has to be there.” Penny reminded her parents as they ate breakfast.

“Don’t worry, we won’t.” Tony assured the teen who just nodded and took a bite out of her sandwich.

That coming Friday Penny was nervously picking at a loose thread on her shirt as she waited for either one of of her parents to arrive. She hoped for both, but it was very rarely that they both managed to make it. Penny looked at the clock on wall as it ticked. It was already 4:30 pm and her parents were suppose to be here 15 minutes ago. Her meeting was about to start any minute now.

“Ms Stark? Have your parents not arrived yet?” Her teacher Mr Harrington asks as he enters the hallway where she was waiting for her meeting.

“No…I think they’re late. You can take Flash first, I’m sure they’ll be here any minute.” Penny says and Mr Harrington nods.

“Alright.” Mr Harrington says and calls for Eugene and his parents who were also waiting for their meeting who was right after Pennys.

Penny sent a quick text to her parents, asking where they were and waited for another 20 minutes until Flash and his parents stepped out of the classroom where Mr Harrington held the meetings.

“Your parents still aren’t a here?” Mr Harrington asks and Penny nods.

“They must’ve forgotten. They’re very busy.” Penny says and and Mr Harrington nods, looking at her with sad eyes.

“How about we just talk about how you’ve been doing so far and I’ll send you home with a report card to hand to your parents?” Mr Harrington asks and Penny nods, standing up. They go through everything she’s done this term so far and Mr Harrington praises her for her hard work, telling her that she’s been doing really well and hopes to see her continuing down the same path. Penny thanks him and says goodbye before leaving.

She picks up her phone to see that her dad had responded to her text.

**IronDad:** Shit! I’m so sorry kid, Pepper had a meeting come up and I had to take Morgan to dance class. It must’ve slipped my mind. I’m so sorry kid! I’m on my way to pick you up right now. I should be there in 30 minutes!

**Spiderling:** Ok

Pennys response was vague, not really knowing what else to say. She sat on the bench outside school and waited for a good 20 minutes before her dad finally pulled up on the curb. Penny grabbed her backpack and hopped in the back seat.

“Kid, I am so sorry. I really am.” Tony says and Penny gives him a small smile.

“It’s okay, I understand.” Was all Penny said and he nodded, but still looked guilty about it. Penny just leaned against the window and sighed slightly. It wasn’t okay really, it wasn’t. She understood that her parents were busy people and that they’d easily forgot because of everything, but she’d reminded them twice. But yet, Penny just let it slip.

~

Penny pressed the button on the table.

“George the third?” Penny said, biting her lip nervously.

“That is…correct! The winner is Midtown high!” The man who lead the competition says. Penny and her whole decathlon team stands up and cheers, hugging each other as they jump around the stage. She even gives Flash a high five which he accepts with a small smile on his face. They all accept the trophy and are each given a medalion.

As the team step of the stage to meet their parents, Penny sighs when she realizes they aren’t there. Ned looks over at her and gives her a sympathetic smile. She sighs and he pulls her in for a side hug.

“They’ll be here next time, you’ll see.” Ned says and Penny just hums in response. Neds parents kindly asked if she wanted to come with them for dinne, but Penny politely declined, not really feeling up to it. She knew she should, but her parents disappointing her again by not being there when they said they would was a real downer. She took the subway home, even though she knew she could’ve just called Happy to come and pick her up. An hour later, Penny arrives home and directly makes her way to her room, slamming the door behind her. She took a deep breath and slumped down on the bed.

She knew her parents were busy people, she did. But that didn’t mean it hurt any less. She’d loved for at least one of them to be there, to see her answering the winning question. All she really wanted was to make her parents proud.

An hour later a knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts and she sat up, eyes shifting to the door.

“Come in.” Penny mumbled, just loud enough for them to hear.

“Hey kid, how was school?” Tony asked as he stepped inside.

“The usual.” Penny said, not mentioning the competition.

“Okay…you alright kid?” Tony asked as he noticed that she seemed a bit closed off.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” Penny told him and he nods. His mind wandering for a few seconds, as if concidering what to say, before speaking up.

“Alright, well I just wanted to remind you to do your homework before dinner. It’s movie night!” Tony says and Penny nods, giving him a small smile.

“I will.” She confirms and he smiles.

“Dinner should be ready in an hour.” Tony says before closing the bedroom door behind him. Penny sighs, picking up her biology book to begin her homework.

~

Penny carefully walked down the hallway of midtown, holding her science fair project in her hands. She’d worked on it for the last 2 months, making sure there wasn’t a single flaw to it. She’d decided to build a robot dog that could respond to commands. Tony had offered to help, but she’d insisted that she wanted to do it by herself, not wanting to feel like one of those kids who made their parents do all their science projects for them. She’d wanted to surprise her parents with her project. Well, her mom. Her dad had to go with Harley to a college fair.

“Hey Penny! How are you feeling? Nervous?” Ned asked as he approached her.

“A little. I just really hope I didn’t mess anything up in the programming. I went through everything yesterday and nothing seemed off so I think we’re good.” Penny says.

“Did you manage to finish your project?” Penny asked Ned as they walked towards the gym where the science fair was held.

“Barely. I literally stayed up until 2 am to finish the last details. I really wish I didn’t choose such a complicated project.” Ned groans and Penny laughs.

“I’m sure it’ll be great Ned.” Penny encouraged, nudging her friend teasingly as they walked down the school corridor.

“Thanks Penny. Are your parents coming today?” Ned asked.

“My mom is. I just hope she doesn’t get pulled into a meeting again.” Penny says and Ned nods.

“I’m sure she’ll be here.” Ned tells her and she gives him a small smile, hoping he was right. They enter the crowded gym and Penny looks around for a free table to set up her robotic dog on. She spots two free tables a couple of feet away and she pulls Ned with her. They set down their things and Penny pulls out the cardboard poster where she’d written down some info about her robotic dog and the process of building it.

“Oh! There’s my parents!” Ned says and waves enthusiastically at them. The couple walk over to them and smiles brightly at the two teens.

“Hi guys! How’s it going?” Mr Leeds asks.

“Great! Everything just started. I think the judge is gonna start walking around and looking at everyone’s project real soon.” Ned says.

“That’s great! And what did you do for your science project Penny?” Mr Leeds asks and Penny smiles.

“Well, I’ve created a robot dog that responds to commands. Let me introduce to you, Techno the robot dog.” Penny says with a chuckle and the couple joins in.

“What kind of commands does he listen to?” Mrs Leeds asks.

“Quite many actually. Techno…sit.” Penny says and the robot dog’s gears start turning and sits down. It’s all a bit wonky, but it works nonetheless.

“And he does ‘speak’.” Penny says and Techno let’s out a bark.

“And my personal favorite, paw.” Penny says and hola put her hand and Techno the robot dog puts the robotic paw in her hand. The couple clap enthusiastically.

“Wow! That’s amazing Penny! Great work!” Mrs Leeds comments and Penny smiles shyly.

“Thank you Mrs Leeds.” Penny say and the woman gives her a big smile.

“We’re gonna go look around for a little while. We’ll see you guys later.” Mr Leeds says and they wave goodbye as the couple makes their way down the rows of tables and science projects.

Pennys phone beeps in her pocket and she picks it up to see a text from her mom.

_“Hey sweetie. I’m so, so sorry, but I’m not gonna be able to make it. I accidentally double booked. I just checked my calendar to see that I’d promised Morgan to go see her dance recital this afternoon. I’m really sorry sweetheart. Happy will pick you up afterwards. Text me updates, okay? And you can show me your project when you get home later <3”_

Penny sighed, placing the phone in her back pocket. Ned looked over at her, concerned look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Her asks and Penny looks up at him.

“She’s not coming.” Penny says.

“Oh…why?”

“She double booked and had apparently already promised my sister to go watch her dance recital today.” Penny says.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Penny.” Ned comforted.

“It’s okay.” Was all Penny said before they were interrupted by the judge. Penny put on a fake smile and proceeded to tell the judge about her robotic dog. In the end, she’d won 1st place. She was happy, she really was. She just wish her mother would’ve actually been there to see her win it.

As Penny stepped outside, Happy was waiting for her.

“Hey kid! How did it go?” Happy asked as she approached him.

“Um yeah, it went great. I won, so….” Penny says, holding up her trophy.

“Wow, that great kid! How come I’m getting the feeling the you’re not so happy about it though?” He asks, noticing sad tone in her voice as she spoke.

“No, I am, I am, I promise. I just- I wish…” Penny begin and Happy finished her sentence, knowing what she was talking about.

“…that you mother was here?” Happy asked and Penny nodded. Happy wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her in for a side hug.

“Yeah…” was all Penny could say.

“You know. Your mother loves you more than anything, so does your father, you know that right?” Happy asks and the girl nods.

“I know.” Penny says and gets in the car. The rest of the car ride home is silent, Penny putting her StarkPods in and listening to music, dulling out the sounds from the rest of the world.

When they arrived, Penny grabbed all her things. Backpack on her shoulder, her robot dog on one hand and the trophy in the other.

“Got it? Need any help?” Happy asked but Penny shook her head.

“It’s okay, thanks Happy!” She said and waved goodbye and took the elevator up to the penthouse floor. The elevator doors opened and and she stepped inside, making her way towards her room.

“Hey sweetheart, how’d it go?” Pepper asked where she was sitting on the couch with Morgan and Tony, she figured Harley was in his room.

“Fine.” Was all she said as she passed them, her feet carrying her quickly and scurrying off to her room. Closing the door behind her and locking it. Penny puts down her things, placing the trophy on the shelf. She wipes away a tear that she barely noticed had fallen.

“Penny? Sweetheart?” Came Peppers voice from behind the door. When Penny doesn’t answer, there’s another knock.

“Kid? What’s going on? Did you not win? Cause if you didn’t, that’s okay. We’re proud of you no matter what.” Tony says and Penny sighs. They really don’t get it.

“Can you guys just please leave me alone.” Penny says, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“Penny come on, please unlock the door.” Pepper says but Penny doesn’t answer.

“Friday, unlock the door.” She can hear Tony vaguely say and she sighs, of course. The door opens and they step inside.

“Kid, what’s going on?” Tony asks again.

“What part of ‘leave me alone’ and having a locked door is it that you guys don’t understand??!” Penny yells at them, but instantly feels guilty for raising her voice at them.

“Oh no, you do not raise your voice at us.” Pepper says, her voice more stern.

“Do you think I care?!” Penny yells again.

“Okay, let’s calm down. Penny, tell us what’s going on and we’ll help you.” Tony says.

“Why would you guys even care? You don’t even care enough to come to the science fair.” Penny says and realization is set on their faces.

“Is that what it’s about?” Tony asked and Penny sniffled.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry about that. I should’ve made sure to double check my schedule and told you beforehand. That’s all on me. I’m really sorry. You know we both wanted to be there.” Pepper says.

“Yes but, you really don’t get it? Do you?!” Penny says, getting more frustrated by the minute.

“It’s not just about you guys not being there. It’s about you guys always picking Morgan or Harley before me or just somehow forget.” Penny says.

“Penny that’s not true.” Pepper says.

“Isn’t it??” Who forgot to come to the parent teacher conference, leaving me there all alone. You guys. Oh, and who forgot to come to my decathlon competition? You guys. So excuse me if I’m a little pissed off.” Penny says.

”Oh and in case you guys care, I won today. But I’m sure that no interest to you.” She continued.

Both Tony and Pepper seemed to realize the hurt they had inflicted on their daughter by their actions.

“Oh sweetheart. I am so sorry if we made you feel like that. It was never our intention. Gosh, I am so sorry. We’re so sorry.” Pepper says and sits down beside her daughter.

“Are you? Will you be able to promise that this won’t happen again?” Penny asked looking up at them with tear stained eyes.

“I’ll make sure of it. I’ll program F.R.I.D.A.Y to alert us of reminders and make sure we don’t double book anything from now on. Next time, we’ll be there, both of us.” Tony says.

“You promise?” Penny asked.

“We promise.” Pepper confirms, wrapping her daughter in a tight embrace. Penny leans against her shoulder and sniffles.

“All I want is to make you guys proud.” Penny says and Tony bends down, grabbing her hands in his.

“Underoos, you always make us proud. Every single day. Gosh, you could draw a simple circle on a piece of paper and I’d be proud of you.” Tony says and Penny let’s out a watery laugh and wraps her arms around his neck. He presses a soft kiss to her curls before he pulls away.

“Why don’t you show us that award winning science project of yours?” Tony asks and Penny laughs, wiping away the last stray tear.

“Yeah, I can do that.” 


End file.
